The Struggle for Guild Master Has Always Been This Way
When Riyao and the others returned to the treetop, the two little ones had happy smiles on their faces.
August and Larcade, who had been as tense as two wooden stakes, now had slightly red eyes, but their whole being exuded a sense of relief, as if they had finally found their organization and returned to their roots. They stood there grinning foolishly.
Riyao rubbed his cheeks, afraid he might accidentally laugh out loud. He had been eavesdropping the whole time, and his face was stiff from laughing.
Heaven knows how much willpower he mustered to keep from bursting into laughter while listening to the live broadcast with those little green leaves hanging down there!
The two old men, whose combined age was several hundred years, had been sitting on the treetop for ages, stammering like first-time parents at their first parent-teacher meeting, trying to coax their child. The noise they made almost gave him a muscle cramp.
"Pfft~"
He quickly covered Mirajane's mouth; if she laughed now, she would be exposed, so he saved her some face.
Mirajane's big, blue eyes curved into crescents, his shoulders trembled as he suppressed a laugh, and his warm breath tickled Riyao's palm, making the back of his hand quiver.
The two gourds shook, staring suspiciously at the cunning couple.
The two gourds hanging on the branch seemed to have radar installed; they turned around in unison, their tips pointing at Riyao and Mirajane, scrutinizing them from head to toe.
Mavis sensed something was off about the couple's expressions, so she decided to resort to trickery.
"Mira, I hope our story doesn't get out, then I won't hold it against you for eavesdropping."
"Good..."
Mirajane had just opened her mouth from Riyao's palm and reflexively uttered a single word when she froze, the words barely leaving her lips.
"Oh! You guys really did eavesdrop!!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The light golden gourd left afterimages in mid-air, transforming into a rampaging meteor hammer that smashed into the head of the black gourd beside it, causing the black gourd to swing back and forth on the vines.
Mirajane grinned and snuggled into Riyao's arms.
She stuck out her little tongue, then decisively buried her head in Riyao's chest, adopting an ostrich-like tactic.
Anyway, even if the sky falls, my husband will hold it up!
Riyao ruffled Mirajane's hair, then turned to look at the two gourds, a smirk playing on his lips.
Since we've already been caught red-handed, why pretend to be a gentleman? Just lay it all out and infuriate them!
"So what if I heard that? Hehehe, oh my, calling him my good son so sweetly~"
Not only did Riyao put his hands in his pockets, but he also made a face at the golden gourd in an extremely annoying way, and imitated the clip-like sound that Mavis had used to coax August perfectly.
"Come out and fight me! You can't come out. Little August Ou and Little Larcade La, take good care of your old mother. We're leaving now."
Riyao swaggered away with Mirajane.
He swaggered around like a crab, seemingly oblivious to his own family, his arm around his wife's waist, humming a tuneless little tune, and slipped away faster than anyone else.
Irene was left behind to face her former colleagues and boss, and the scene was incredibly awkward. She pretended to be calm, but in her heart she cursed Riyao hundreds of times.
I should have known better than to be greedy and take those two handfuls of sunflower seeds!
That cunning bastard just walked away, leaving her alone in this utterly disastrous situation!
Under the resentful gazes of the two gourds, Irene pretended to raise her short little hand to look at a watch that wasn't actually on her wrist.
"Oh dear, my dear daughter is calling me home for dinner, so I won't disturb you any longer."
Without even a second's hesitation, the Scarlet Heavenly Maiden flipped over and jumped down, disappearing into the clouds in a flash.
August reached out to stop him, but it was too late.
His little arms were still frozen in mid-air, while only a few green leaves were left swirling and falling from the edge of the tree canopy.
"Hey, no, we don't have any unreasonable Enchantment Magic like yours, how are we going to get down?"
August walked to the edge of the treetop and glanced down. The sea below shimmered. With their small, twelve-year-old bodies, if they jumped down, they would probably become fish food on the spot.
I'm hungry.
Larcade rubbed his stomach. They had been out of the gourd for most of the day; what had they eaten?
A rumbling protest came from under his belly at just the right moment. The once pure and dignified boy now slumped down, rubbing his deflated stomach.
The two little ones perched on the treetop, looking rather pitiful in the cold wind.
A gust of sea wind blew high above, carrying two withered leaves that drifted over their heads. The two, once powerful Spriggan 12 in the Western Continent, now looked no different from two abandoned puppies on a rooftop.
"Zeref, you figure something out!"
The golden gourd nudged the black gourd again and began to boss the child's father around with an air of self-righteousness.
"Me? I don't think I have any better options than calling Riyao. Riyao, are you there? Bring your two nephews down."
The black gourd endured the beating from the golden gourd, calling out to the Riyao.
To prevent his two sons from starving to death atop the tree, the once feared black mage, who had instilled terror throughout the continent, unhesitatingly lowered his pride and began calling out to people according to the seniority that Riyao had just bestowed upon him.
The moment the words left his mouth, the giant tree beneath his feet reacted.
The branches of the Parasol Tree stretched out and wrapped around the two little ones, startling them.
Two thick, emerald-green vines, like pythons with eyes, suddenly shot out and tightly wrapped around the waists of August and Larcade.
This scene seems familiar; it looks like this is how the Parasol Tree swallowed it back then.
The hairs on the two brothers' bodies stood on end instantly, and the psychological trauma of the battle replayed wildly in their minds.
"Won't they swallow us up again?!"
Larcade clung desperately to the vines around his waist, his voice trembling slightly.
"Probably not."
Although August offered these words of comfort, his small body was as stiff as a rock.
The two little ones were whispering to each other, and the Parasol Tree, displeased, grew two extra branches and smacked their bottoms.
Snap! Snap!
Two crisp sounds echoed in the air as the tips of the vines slapped each of the brothers' bottoms with pinpoint accuracy.
You brat, what nonsense are you spouting!
"Ouch, ouch, I'm so sorry!"
The two little ones, clutching their burning bottoms, begged for mercy and vowed never to gossip again.
The vines stretched all the way from the sea to the shore, and with a standard throw, they aimed at the guild's open gates. Two small golden figures traced two parabolic arcs and rolled onto the hall floor.
The two little ones got up in a disheveled state, and the Fairy Tail members looked them over.
The previously noisy group of drunks in the hall instantly fell silent, and dozens of eyes focused on the two teenagers who had just been delivered to the door.
As soon as Riyao entered, he explained the big gossip about the tree canopy to everyone. Now that the main object has landed, the onlookers immediately started whispering among themselves.
"It's actually the child of the first generation!?"
"Zeref is a real jerk!"
"That's too much."
As they talked, they looked around, wondering if they were sure they weren't wrong this time, or if someone would beat them up.
While righteously condemning the dark wizard, Macao and Wakaba subconsciously hunched their necks and glanced at the top of their heads and the doorway, fearing that another foot or longsword might fly out and pile them up like a human pyramid.
Riyao rolled his eyes, telling them that if they didn't keep their mouths shut, they'd be the ones getting beaten up.
I got a beating a couple of days ago for making wild guesses, but I've finally learned my lesson today and know to check my surroundings for any signs of hostility before I speak.
Makarov was amazed as he looked at the little baby in front of him.
The old man slid off the bar stool, put his hands behind his back, circled August twice, and tilted his head back in amazement.
"He's only a year younger than me? That's unbelievable! This is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing. The second generation... sigh."
Thinking of how Precht abandoned the first generation's own flesh and blood by the roadside, Makarov's old face showed a hint of sadness, and he let out a heavy sigh.
Just as he was getting into the mood, a sarcastic remark drifted over from the side.
"The struggle for the presidency has always been like this."
Riyao rested his chin on his hand, speaking in a serious and affected tone, his eyes practically saying, "If the second generation hadn't exiled the eldest prince back then, you wouldn't have had the chance to rise to power as the third generation."
Click!
The veins on Makarov's forehead instantly bulged like spider webs, and his earlier sentimental lament vanished into thin air.
"You brat, what nonsense are you spouting? Get out of here!"
The golden giant's radiance surged, causing tables and chairs to tip and fall over in the wind of the punch. The millstone-sized fist, accompanied by a whistling sound, hurtled straight toward Riyao's face!
Riyao deftly dodged the millstone-sized fist and landed behind Mirajane.
He lightly touched the ground with his toes, and his whole body floated backward like a weightless leaf, precisely wedging himself behind Mirajane, peeking out half his head and winking at the old man.
Just as chaos erupted in the hall, a weak voice broke through.
"Um, could you get us two brothers something to eat first?"
Larcade clutched his still-rumbling stomach, his eyes fixed on the enticing aroma of grilled meat wafting from the bar, and he simply couldn't resist any longer.
"Oh, Lisanna, bring them their signature dishes, and one for me too, on Riyao's tab!"
"I want one too! I want it too, count it as Riyao's share!"
Gray, shirtless, raised his hand to join the group; how could he miss out on such a lucrative opportunity?
Me too!
+1"+1"+1
In the blink of an eye, all the drunkards in the hall started cheering and raising their hands, and the sound of ordering food rose and fell. Anyone who didn't know better would think that Riyao was holding a full moon celebration at the guild today.
"Hey! Why are you blaming me, you bunch of bastards!" Riyao protested vehemently.